The present invention pertains to a means for distributing digital entertainment and advertising programming across a communications network in which the entertainment programming is customized according to consumers' stated preferences and the advertising is customized both according to consumer demographics and also according to consumers' stated preferences.
As computers become more powerful, consumers have begun using them for entertainment, listening to music and watching multimedia presentations and videos. The Internet has become the world's largest communications network and has become the most powerful information distribution method known to man. Because audio and video can be digitized, they can be stored in electronic form and distributed over the Internet.
Computing power and storage has dramatically increased the number of people who are taking advantage of the personal computer and the Internet as sources of information generally and entertainment in particular. Dramatic expansions of available bandwidth have made it faster and therefore more convenient for consumers to use the Internet and personal computer as entertainment media. Most of the music available on the Internet is in a format known as MPEG One Layer 3 and MPEG 2 Layer 3. These formats compress the size of the audio file so that it is possible to distribute them quickly over the Internet and store large volumes of music on a personal computer or a portable play-out device.
The increased popularity of the Internet as a medium of entertainment creates challenges for the entire entertainment industry. The industry is challenged to insure that entertainment content distributed through the Internet is legally authorized for duplication and distribution. It is a challenge to account for the exact frequency and quantity of authorized distribution and performance of entertainment content. There is a strong need within the industry to establish a sound and reliable economic model or framework to support the coming inevitable and massive distribution of entertainment through the Internet. There is a strong challenge to structure advertising content for meaningful groups of consumers when the principal distribution medium, the Internet, is inherently global in operation. Advertisers are severely in need of means to advertise products in ways that are meaningful but different, that is, specifically tailored, for residents of Houston as well as residents of London or Hong Kong.
Related art includes U.S. Pat. No. 5,793,964 (Rogers et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,790,789 (Suarez), U.S. Pat. No. 5,694,334 (Donahue et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 5,761,428 (Sidey), U.S. Pat. No. 5,655,081 (Bonnell et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,367,635 (Bauer et al.,), U.S. Pat. No. 5,774,660 (Brendel et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 5,774,656 (Hattori et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 5,768,506 (Randell), none of which teaches the present invention's secure and accountable distribution of entertainment content with embedded advertising scheduled according to consumers' demographics and stated preferences.